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Looking back- Dancing with Change

“Life is a dance, you learn as you go.
Sometimes you lead and sometimes you follow.
Don’t worry that you don’t know.
Life’s a dance, you learn as you go.”
John Michael Montgomery

Life is a dance and you learn as you go. This resonates with me.

The last one year has been a terrific learning experience for me as a Coach, Mentor, and Consultant. I had to learn and unlearn quite a few things. But today as I look in the rearview mirror , I can see the curves, the challenges, the highs and lows of the year gone by.

Before I embarked on this journey, I had talked to several people in the industry and in my network. There was a mixed reaction. While some encouraged me ,others thought I was out of my mind to leave a secure job.

If you hear a voice within you say “you cannot paint,” then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced. ~ Vincent van Gogh

The more I spoke to people, the more confused I would get. Finally, I decided to listen to myself and took the plunge. As I look back, I realized it was difficult for anyone to give me a definite answer. I was looking for affirmations, but I could get none.

Only you can be the best judge of your own strengths. I did not know how this decision would play out, but now I think I made the right decision

If there is a fear of falling, the only safety consists in deliberately jumping….Carl Jung

During the last one year , I met and made several new friends. I can never forget the support and encouragement that some individuals offered.

I discovered incredible things about myself. Some that were encouraging, others not so encouraging. I decided to re-skill myself and chose to work on programs that were close to my heart. My passion and skills resonated with what I had decided to do.

This was the beginning of my second career and I had no intentions of taking it easy. I wanted to be successful in working on projects that were close to my heart. Projects on which I could leverage my decades of experience in the industry and add value to my clients.

Definition of Success

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful- Albert Schweitzer

In a career spanning three decades , I had transitioned through different industries, roles ,responsibilities, culture . I had learned lessons on the way which ,today I found useful. As in the past will this transition be successful? I was venturing into unknown territory. It required me to stretch out of my comfort zone.

My definition of success had changed. I was no longer counting or defining the success by the money I made, or the title I earned. But was defining it by the amount of time I was spending with people and helping them. Sometimes free has value they say. Each time I agreed to do something free for a client, gave me a new experience. It also showed me opportunities which I would never have thought about. Learned many valuable lessons in the process.

My learnings……

In the last one year on this journey, I had a few learnings

Before you decide to start on your own, be sure of your own strength, and passion.

Talk to people in your network and those in your family, but at the end follow your heart.